Message of Peace

January 18, 2018

Welcome, Protect, Promote & Integrate

Pope Francis celebrated mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday 1/14/18, the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. People from more than 70 countries were represented in the multi-cultural celebration. In his message of peace, the Pope called all to:

“…overcome our fears so as to encounter the other, to welcome, to know, and to acknowledge him or her.”

To read the full text of our Holy Father’s homily on World Day of Migrants and Refugees, click here.

Here in Hawaii, the theme of migrants and refugees was also highlighted at the Red Mass on Tuesday, 1/16/18 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa. Bishop Larry Silva reminded us of two famous immigrants who lived their faith by serving the most vulnerable. Both St. Damien and St. Marianne dedicated their lives to helping the sick, the poor and the outcast. And they did so with faith, courage and love. Click here to read the full text of Bishop Silva’s homily.

The theme for the US Bishops National Migration Week 2018, “Many Journeys, One Family,” draws attention to the fact that each of our families has a migration story–some recent and others in the distant past. Regardless of where we are and where we came from, we remain part of the human family and are called to live in solidarity with one another. The US Bishops shared the following prayer for all to use not only in the National Migration week but all year long:

Merciful and Loving Father,

We beseech you, open our hearts so that we may provide hospitality and refuge to migrants who are lonely, afraid, and far from their homes.

Give us the courage to welcome every stranger as Christ in our midst, to invite them into our communities as a demonstration of Christ’s love for us.

We pray that when we encounter the other, we see in her the face of your Son, when we meet a stranger, that we take his hand in welcome.

Help us to live in solidarity with one another, to seek justice for those who are persecuted and comfort for those who are suffering.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.